Milestone
by InvaderLuver
Summary: What happens when a pair of mute twins are bullied for their lack of speech in Turbo's presence? Let's see how far we can push our dear racer! Originally from Tumblr c: I don't own WiR


Turbo entered Tapper's bar quickly and quietly. He didn't feel like staying for long. All he needed was a quick drink.

As the bartender stopped him, he laughed with glee. "Turbo! What brings you here?"

"Just a quick beer, Tapper. I have to get back to my game and do some quick repairs."

As a group called for a refill, the man rushed off. "I'll be back in one moment!"

Yellow eyes glanced around the scenery. Man, he hadn't been in this console in two years. The walls became crowded with sketched portraits, signed by Tapper himself. Streamers hung from the game's anniversary not too long ago, providing a decorative theme to the shady area. Multiple game logos were printed upon banners that hung from the ceiling, as if everyone had left their mark in the old place.

He couldn't help but smile. "I'm likin' the scenery, Tapper." He commented, paying for his drink and taking it to a round table full of characters from Felix's game.

"Evenin' newbie!"

"Why hello, Turbo! I don't see you here often!" The conservative handyman marveled, quickly scooting over for his new friend to sit.

"No need to move, I'm just visiting."

Suddenly, during Felix's newest story of a recent replacement or fixing if things, a voice caught the racer's attention. He shushed Felix and listened, head turned away from the noise.

"Can't you talk?"

Another voice chortled at the question. "Oh man, what a sap. You gunna go crying to your momma, squirt?"

Turbo's eyes dropped to his drink. "Poor guy. If I could regenerate in this game, I would be over there in a flash."

"Um, Turbo…?" Felix raided a hand only to be silenced once more.

The pestering continued. "No, no, that's Turbo's little bitch!"

"WHO'S MY BITCH?" Turbo cried, silencing the bar for a moment.

His feral eyes locked onto a nearby pair of familiar twins and some goons straight from a fighting game, all decked out in their shiny costumes and silky 'I-spent-way-too-much-time-on-this-hairdo-this-morning' hair. Characters like that made him sick. He snarled, walking straight over to them, anger fueling his insides.

If he got beaten to a pulp, so be it. This was for his innocent friends, almost brothers. If he lost them, he'd lose himself. Turbo came between them. "What do you think you're doing?"

'He called us retarded and bitches all because we can't talk.' Ted's hands signaled, crazily waving about to express his anger.

Both twins could hear perfectly fine, and Turbo knew this. It was only their voices that never made it through. This downfall undoubtedly led to constant teasing and frustration from many of the newer games that never took the time to know them.

"This retard doesn't even know what I'm talking about." The overbearing tone hit a nerve in turbo like a nail. "Excuse me, _Retard?_"

'I'm not mentally challenged! I can hear every word you say!' Teddy signed angrily.

"Like now. What the hell is he making with his hands?!"

"It's better that we didn't know, Jack! It'd probably make our IQ's drop." A snobby-toned girl commented.

The group laughed with the insult, the twins' faces falling into an expression mixed between hearing your first pet had been run over by a car, and your own father being beaten to death.

Pain.

Turbo swiftly shoved the pack leader back a few good feet. "You'd better shut your damn mouths before I shut 'em for you! And where do you younger brats get the gall to say that to someone so misfortunate?"

Now gathering everyone's attention, Turbo couldn't back down. As 'Jack' attempted to argue once more, the gray-skinned adversary quickly stepped forward, cutting him off.

"You think just because you're high definition and have more pixels that you can pick on games like us? WE PAVED THE WAY FOR YOU ASSHOLES TO COME IN AND BECOME SO POPULAR! SO WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM!?" Turbo yelled as hard as he could, waving his arms about franticly in frustration. The young man rolled his eyes. As Turbo finished his tirade, he got his chance to but in.

"Hey, retards, see if you can understand this." He suddenly flipped his middle finger at the archaic characters. A few others around them swooned in astonishment. They all knew from past experiences and scenes that Turbo was never one to trifle with.

This was going to get bloody in three seconds…

Turbo smiled in false amusement. "Heh, heh! That's funny! I got something else funny to show you! You wanna see?!"

The blond boy leaned down to the other's level. "Amuse me." They all laughed in unison, taking the anger as a joke and taking away Turbo's very limited patience.

"Tell me how funny THIS FEELS!" Turbo cocked his arm back, delivering a brutal punch to the other's face, knocking him to the ground and smearing blood on his knuckles.

The fighter could only lay in shock. "Do something, idiots!" He demanded to his team. Instead, at the sight of Turbo licking the blood away from his fingers, they backed out and retreated to their own console.

Turbo tensed, standing before the other. "Do the arcade a favor, and _SERIOUSLY CONSIDER SUCKING ON A MUFFLER._"

The two stood and stared at each other for another moment, Tapper blinking in shock from behind the wooden barrier he was accustomed to.

"Jack, leave." He requested for the safety of the fighter and so his home wasn't at risk of becoming a pile of rubble.

Jack finally trembled to his feet and scampered away, a hand clamped to his nose.

"Yeah, fuck off! And if you come within ten feet of my brothers ever, I'll murder you!"

Turbo huffed, eyes fixated on his half-full drink leaving a puddle of condensation atop the bar counter as he calmed himself. How could someone just gather the nerve to say something like that to people so kind and sweet and sensitive? _'The newer the games got, the more assholes appear.'_

Peering over to the sight of a shuddering body, he failed to notice how Teddy was already in tears. Ted wrapped an arm around his brother, taking him into his chest. Turbo felt like crying himself. "Are you alright?"

'I'm tired of it! I'm tired of everyone picking on us because we can't talk!' Teddy wiped his eyes, body wracking.

"No, no, come here…" Unexpectedly, two jumpsuit-clad arms embraced the twin, a kiss placed on his forehead. "Don't let that bastard get to you." After another moment of sobs, Turbo pulled himself away from the hug, looking back into Teddy's bloodshot eyes.

'Thanks, for that…' Teddy signed.

Ted held his hands out past the other to let Turbo see. 'That was unusual for someone to stand up for us like that!' Unusual for someone to have the nerve to stand up?

"How often does this happen when I'm not around?" Turbo whisper-yelled, brows furrowing in sudden anger.

Ted swallowed hard, avoiding eye contact. 'Once or twice a week…'

Turbo's expression hardened further. "Don't you lie to me, Ted."

'Okay… Every night.'

'We just ignore them and we're fine, honest.'

Astonished, Turbo huffed, forehead hitting the countertop. "This is NOT okay!"

Teddy took the kind gesture of Tapper handing him a napkin to dry his eyes on something other than someone's shirt. 'But what can we do to stop it?!'

The racer folded his arms. "I'll sit with you both every night if I have to. They have no right to say those things, and you know it. I don't even swear on a regular basis, but they just…" Turbo clenched both fists, hiding his flushed face from the brothers. "People who are inconsiderate just piss me off!"

Teddy cautiously placed a hand on Turbo's back, the bustle around them from other characters starting to die down. On cue of a tap, the racer peered over his crossed arms. "What?"

'That was _really_ brave.' He signed with a hint of sadness.

The defender sighed heavily. It was a simple thing for him to get teased for his skin color and cocky attitude that was programmed into him. He couldn't help that. The twins couldn't help their programmed muteness. What was it that pulled at his heart that forced him to become so loud-mouthed all of a sudden? He never felt so infuriated and depressed all at the same time, not even when he lost races to both of the crying messes beside him.

"You still upset?"

The twin sadly nodded, displaying to horrible truth to his fellow racer.

Turbo released a growl. "Forget them! If they come back, tell me, and I'll beat some ass for you two. Now, I have to get back to repairing my car."

Speechless, they witnessed their friend hop off his barstool and make his way out.

"You two alright?" Tapper questioned as he proceeded to clean out a glass with a damp rag. In turn, the twins nodded, thanking him for his concern and turning back to each other.

'Just ignore what they said. Turbo likes us, and that's a milestone for him.' Ted signed casually to his hunched over brother.

Teddy released a silent exhale of sorrow. 'I know, but… I can't get it off my mind.'

"Hey, losers!" A voice called for them. The twins immediately snapped their heads back to the front door.

Turbo's lips curled into a wry grin as he raised his hands to talk. 'I love you two more than any asshole in this bar. And you aren't freaks. You're special to me, got it?'

And with this, Turbo was off, his secret message delivered successfully.

Teddy beamed with delight at the words, gripping Ted's shoulders and quietly squealing. Ted wanted to laugh, but refrained due to his brother's excitement.

This was the first time Turbo had made a complete sentence in their language.


End file.
